INTRODUCING... Shamsher M. Chowdhury, BB Shamsher M. Chowdhury, BB, graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree from the Pakistan Military Academy and was commissioned in the erstwhile Pakistan Army in 1969. He served in Jessore and Chittagong during his career with the Pakistan Army. Mr. Chowdhury actively participated in the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in1971 and, for his bravery, was awarded the Gallantry Award "Bir Bikram" (BB). He was promoted to the rank of Major in September1973. Shamsher M. Chowdhury joined the Bangladesh Civil Service (Foreign Affairs) in January 1975. After serving as Deputy Chief of Protocol and Director (West Europe) in the Foreign Ministry from 1975 to 1977 he was posted to Bangladesh Embassy in Rome from 1977 to 1981. He served as Counsellor in the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington from 1981 to 1983 and as Counsellor and Minister in the Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa from 1983 to 1986. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission/Minister in the Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing from 1986 to 1988. Mr. Chowdhury was Director General, SAARC Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from November 1988 to September 1991. During this period he also attended the Senior Staff Course in the Public Administrative Training Centre in Savar and passed with distinction. Mr. Chowdhury served as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka from 1991 to1995; as Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Federal Republic of Germany from 1995 to 1998; and as Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Shamsher M. Chowdhury, BB, represented Bangladesh in International Conferences in the FAO, WFP & Non-Aligned meetings. He was also member of the Bangladesh Delegation to several Commonwealth Summits and SAARC Summits. He also represented Bangladesh in ICPE Assembly meetings in Slovenia. He served as the Foreign Secretary to the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh from 24 October 2001 to 17 March 2005. Mr. Shamsher M. Chowdhury, BB, speaks German and Italian, and has working knowledge of French. He assumed charge of the Ambassador of Bangladesh to USA on 29 March 2005.